Small Ruminant Management & Fiber

Conference

2019

November 9th & 10th

Speaker Biographies

Campus Map

 

Dr. Terry Gipson, PhD American Institute for Goat Research Agriculture Research & Extension Programs Langston University Email: terry.gipson@langston.edu Website: https://www.langston.edu/terry-gipson-0

Dr. Terry Gipson is the Goat Extension Leader of the American Institute for Goat Research at Langston University (Oklahoma). However, Dr. Gipson supports all three components of Langston University’s land-grant mission; teaching, research, and extension. Dr. Gipson teaches Animal Science 4333 “Agricultural Statistics” and Animal Science 4133 “Animal Breeding.” Dr. Gipson has been the author or co-author on numerous scientific articles concerning goat breeding, production and parasitism in goats. Several of Dr. Gipson’s recent scientific articles have dealt with energy requirements for grazing animals and have incorporated technologies such as GIS mapping, GPS collars, heart rate monitors, and pedometers/accelerometers in the calculation of energy expenditures. Dr. Gipson coordinates the entire outreach (Cooperative Extension) program for the Institute. These Extension activities include Goat Field Day, quarterly goat newsletter, web master, meat buck performance test, Langston Goat DHI laboratory, artificial insemination workshops, and the Goat Industry Community of Practice for the eXtension.org project funded by USDA.

Dr. Steve Hart, PhD American Institute for Goat Research Agriculture Research & Extension Programs Langston University Email: shart@langston.edu Website: http://www.luresext.edu/

Steve Hart grew up in Northeast Texas on a swine and small grain farm. He had 4-H projects including a dairy heifer, pigs and chickens. He was active in the FFA and had FFA projects of sorghum grain and a beef heifer. He graduated from Texas A & M with a degree in Dairy Science and later, a degree in nutrition. He had the distinction of being one of the last draftees and fought the Vietnam war behind a typewriter in Washington DC. He received a Ph.D in Dairy nutrition from Virginia Tech. He started to work at Langston University in 1991 with goats and was involved in providing nutritional and grazing information to goat producers during the Angora craze in the early 90's. He presented at the National Symposium on Goat Fiber Production, Processing and Marketing held in Oklahoma City in 1993. He has been active as an extension specialist at Langston University for 28 years. He has been a member of Mohair Producers of Oklahoma, the Cashmere Coop, American Meat Goat Association, Oklahoma Meat Goat Association American Goat Federation and the International Goat Association.

Dr. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, Professor Pathology/Genetics Department of Biomedical Sciences & Pathobiology Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Email: dpsponen@vt.edu / Website: https://www.vetmed.vt.edu

Dr. Phillip Sponenberg (DVM Texas A&M, PhD Cornell Univ.) is a Professor of Pathology and Genetics at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine where he teaches pathology, genetic resources, and small ruminant medicine. His interest and research in coat color genetics involves numerous species, including sheep and goats, and has resulted in several journal articles, book chapters, and books. He has been a technical advisor for the Livestock Conservancy since 1977 working to save several endangered livestock breeds. A personal herd of Tennessee Myotonic Goats in a wide variety of colors and a Choctaw pony stallion complements these efforts. He is also an avid spinner and appreciates natural fibers and their color array.

Dr. Mary Smith, DVM, Professor Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine Email: mcs8@cornell.edu / Website: www.vet.cornell.edu

Dr. Mary Smith is a professor in the Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences at Cornell. She has been a clinician in the Ambulatory and Production Medicine Clinic at Cornell since graduation from the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine in 1972. Although all large animals are fascinating, her special interests include the ‘miscellaneous species’ (sheep, goats & camelids), gross pathology, and poisonous plants. Dr. Smith has coauthored Goat Medicine (third edition in preparation with Dr. David Sherman) and is moderator of the American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners list serve and editor of its newsletter.

Mary Jeanne Packer Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill Email: mjpacker@battenkillfibers.com / Website: www.battenkillfibers.com Mary Jeanne Packer is the president of Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill, a fiber processing mill located in Greenwich, NY. Mary Jeanne founded the mill in 2009 to provide value-added, custom carding and spinning services for fiber farms and others; and to manufacture yarn and fiber products for wholesale and retail markets. The mill produces 100-150 lbs of artisan quality semi-worsted-spun yarn daily - using refurbished traditional milling machinery. Battenkill Fibers brought over a dozen new full-time and part-time jobs to rural Washington County, NY. In 2015, it was named the Washington County Small Business of the Year. The mill & factory store are open to visitors as part of the annual Washington County Fiber Tour & Hudson Valley Yarn Trail promotion; & by appointment throughout the year. Mary Jeanne is a co-founder of the non-profit Hudson Valley Textile Project that connects farmers, makers, designers & others in the regional fiber to fabric supply chain; & her work with that sustainable textile initiative led to her being featured in the spring 2019 edition of Where Women Create Work and several popular podcasts including Power Purls and Collage Creative.

Wendy Pieh & Dr. Peter Goth Springtide Farm Email: info@springtidefarm.com Website: www.springtidefarm.com

When Peter Goth and Wendy Pieh purchased 200 acres of land in Bremen, Maine, they decided to return that land to agriculture. Rocky and thickly forested, goats were a natural choice to help in recovering the landscape. After extensive research, they opted for cashmere goats. So, began a journey together, building Springtide Farm. They began with a handful of goats, learning about cashmere assessment through visiting labs and attending clinics and shows to improve their knowledge and ability to develop an outstanding herd. Over the years they became more knowledgeable, with both becoming recognized cashmere goat judges. Peter spearheaded the creation of the North American Cashmere Goat Breed standard, and this standard has been adopted by the Cashmere and Northwest Cashmere Goat Associations, with a registry on its way. In their 21st year, they continue to have each goat’s fiber tested in the lab annually, and cull animals that are not very good to excellent in both fiber and conformation. With as many as 50 kids tumbling about in the spring, the herd expanded and has resulted in Springtide Farm being an internationally recognized breeder of premium quality North American Cashmere goats. Wendy grew up on a small farm in Ohio, and never has been quite able to forget or move away from her agricultural roots. She moved around, living in the US, Canada, and Lesotho, Africa. She earned a Masters’ Degree in Organization Development, and worked in Outward Bound for many years. In all of these places a horse or a goat would likely turn up in the back yard. Later, after meeting Peter and moving to Maine, Wendy served in the Maine State Legislature for eight years. Six of those years she was the House Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry. She would tell you that even working with goats or with politicians, you can make a difference. Peter grew up in Kentucky, working on the local horse breeding farms when he wasn’t in school. After earning his medical degree at Tulane, he migrated to the northeastern United States, and divided his time between practicing emergency medicine and farming with horses and mules. Never one to stand still, Peter is considered the father of wilderness medicine, founding Wilderness Medical Associates, which is a thriving international educational organization. He has built emergency departments where there were none, and rebuilt emergency departments where he was working. He apologizes that he can’t be here, but………. he’s working!

Wini Labrecque Sorting, Classing, Grading (SCG) Email: strwvr@gmail.com or info@fibersorting.com Website: https://sortgradeclass.com/

Wini Labrecque has been involved in the fiber industry since the late 1980s. With a focus on natural fibers, she has developed an extensive background in utilization and promotion of all types of fibers for practical and commercial use. Wini is a weaver, hand spinner, felter, knitter, crocheter, and dyer. She has raised a variety of fiber livestock including cashmere-producing goats for 12 years. She is an AOA Certified Alpaca Fleece judge, Certified Camelid Fiber Grader/Sorter/Classer through Olds College in Canada, Trained Grader/Sorter of cashmere fiber as well as trained in judging cashmere. Wini also has extensive expertise grading and sorting American wool in all its diversity. She is coauthor of “Sorting Grading Carding Basic Manual: a prerequisite for advanced sorting and grading” and is an administrator and trainer for the SUNY/Cobleskill Certificate Training Program in Sorting, Grading and Classing of Fiber as an administrator and trainer. In addition, she has worked with June Cashmere to help develop better cashmere production, collection and marketing with nomad people of Kyrgyzstan. Working with IYAK (Int’l Yak Association) she has been instrumental in developing criteria and judging protocol for yak fiber both on and off the animal. Wini is a past founding partner in a company dedicated to utilization of all grades of alpaca fiber into woven fabric for home décor use.

Laura Sansone NY Textile Lab Email: nytextilelab@gmail.com Website: www.newyorktextilelab.com/ Laura Sansone is the owner and operator of House-Wear Design Studio, a design and production company specializing in sustainable textiles. She is the creator of Textile Lab, an ongoing project that examines environmentally responsible textile methods, and community based systems of production. She first taught as part-time faculty at Parsons in 2006. She has also taught at Maryland Institute College of Art in the General Sculptural Studies Department. Her work has been exhibited at the 5th Annual Artisterium Contemporary Art Exhibition and Art Events, Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia; Dumbo Arts Festival, NY; Cranbrook Museum; Sonoma Museum of Visual Art; and Exit Art, NY. Publications include contributions to Exploring Materials/Creative Design For Everyday Objects by Ellen Lupton, Hot House/ Expanding the Field of Fiber at Cranbrook by Gregory Wittkopp. Map Magazine, Perspective Magazine, TeenVogue, and Bomb Magazine. Laura received a BFA with a concentration in fiber from the University of The Arts and an MFA with a concentration in fiber from Cranbrook Academy of Art. Laura will present her academic research as well as her regional textile development. She’ll share insights about growing a decentralized textile economy in the Northeast US and the importance of building deep value into our textile production systems. Laura will have examples of regionally sourced and manufactured commercial textile products on view as well as her NYS Regional Yarn Sourcebook: a tool that connects designers and farmers together.

Dr. Nora Desmond, DVM Chianti Cashmere, Italy Email: info@chianticashmere.com / nora@sustainablecashmere.com Website: www.chianticashmere.com/en

Born and raised on Long Island, N.Y., Nora has a degree in Fine Arts from Temple University after studying a year in Rome. She moved permanently to Italy in the 1970’s and graduated from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Pisa. Nora’s small farm in Tuscany is home to the first cashmere goat farm in Italy created in 1995. Careful genetic selection and scrupulous health standards has created a small herd, source of breeding livestock in Europe and abroad. Nora’s interests are not limited to Cashmere goats per se, but ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE fiber production and PASTORALISM, and to this end was a founding member of the European Fine Fiber Network in 1995, Consorzio Arianne (whose goal is to promote fiber animal production) in 2001, is the European Fiber Animal Breeders’ representative within the EAAP, which meets every two years in Europe to promote extensive livestock management, as Italian representative has participated in the European Shepherds’ Network, including the Global Pastoralist Meeting in Nairobi December 2013. In 2014 CHIANTI CASHMERE GOAT FARM was the first European livestock operation to be certified “PREDATOR FRIENDLY” by the internationally recognized Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) due to the non – lethal methods used to protect her goats from wolf attacks. Nora has now become a national spokesperson for the farmers’ position in the ever-widening conflict between predators and herders, providing practical support, guidance and guardian dogs to other livestock owners.

Dr. Mike Thonney, PhD, Professor Cornell Sheep Program CALS, Dept. of Animal Science, Cornell University Email: mlt2@cornell.edu Website: http://blogs.cornell.edu/newsheep/

Mike grew up on a farm in eastern Washington where he had a small flock of Hampshire sheep. He graduated in animal science from Washington State University in 1971 and received his MS (1973) and PhD (1975) degrees in nutrition at the University of Minnesota. Mike joined the Cornell Animal Science faculty in 1975. He conducts research in growth, nutrition, and management of sheep and cattle and teaches Animal Science 3800 - Sheep in spring semesters of odd-numbered years and Animal Science 3600 - Beef Cattle in spring semesters of even numbered years. Mike has taken sabbatical leaves in Scotland (1984), California (1992), New Zealand (2003), and Washington (2012). In 1998, he began directing the Cornell Sheep Program.

Dr. tatiana Stanton, PhD Small Ruminant Extension Specialist CALS, Dept. of Animal Science, Cornell University Phone: 607-229-9066 (cell) Email: tls7@cornell.edu Website: http://blogs.cornell.edu/goats/

tatiana graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo with a BS in Crop Science followed by a stint in the Peace Corps as a goat extensionist for the Jamaica 4-H. While getting her MS in Dairy Science & Tropical Soils from Cal Poly, she was herdsperson for a large commercial goat dairy and then worked as a goat/sheep specialist for Heifer Project International and herdsperson for the International Dairy Goat Center at Prairie View, Texas. In 1990, she obtained a PhD in Animal Breeding at Cornell studying genotype X environment interactions in dairy cattle in Latin America and the US. tatiana has been the Cornell small ruminant extension specialist since 2000 conducting applied research on low input lambing/kidding, small ruminant parasite management, etc. She also manages her own pasture based meat goat herd.

Christian Posbergh PhD Candidate CALS Field of Animal Science, Cornell University Email: cjp98@cornell.edu

Chris is from Central New Jersey and started raising sheep in 2000 with a bottle lamb brought home from his dad's work. Since then his flock has grown to about ~25 Romney and Dorset ewes enrolled in the NSIP genetic evaluation program. He graduated with a BS in Animal Science from Cornell in May 2015 and is currently a PhD student in Heather Huson's lab studying small ruminant genetics with a focus on sheep. His current project is studying the genetics of aseasonality and body size in a several breeds. He is also president of the American Romney Breeders Association.

Nikola Kochendoerfer PhD Candidate CALS Field of Animal Science, Cornell University Email: nk584@cornell.edu

Niko herded sheep for four years at a 6,000 acre German dairy, crop, and sheep farm cooperative in Eastern Germany, eventually serving as co-op manager. In 2012 she graduated from Anhalt University with a B. of Engineering. in Ag. Mgmt. She has consulted for German agribusinesses and sheep farms and managed a cow dairy in Eastern Germany. Since June 2015 she has worked with Dr. Mike Thonney pursuing her interest in nutritional management for milking ewes managed on accelerated lambing systems. As part of her PhD program Niko milked sheep for 11 consecutive lactations on the Cornell campus. Her PhD program involves studying dietary fiber levels for ewes milked on accelerated lambing programs. At home she helps her partner Lewis to manage his 250 grass-fed Fox Farms ewes.

Noreen Atkins Email: ginlipfarm@yahoo.com

Noreen has raised sheep since 1998, starting with Suffolks and adding Border Leicesters by the end of 1999. Like many folks, it is a 4-H project gone wild. At the beginning, we raised the sheep primarily for showing, to sell breeding stock, and meat. We have shown at the local county fair, NYS Fair, and at other large shows in New England, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. I have sold many Border Leicesters at the Bred Ewe & Lamb sale held at the Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck. I slowly started to explore using the fleeces from my Border Leicesters; teaching myself to process my own wool, learning to spin with a drop spindle, then graduating to a wheel. I sold my first fleeces on eBay around 2005. I then graduated to marketing fleeces at fiber festivals along with selling some privately at wholesale. Now I send most of my fleeces to fiber mills to be made into roving and yarn. I recently retired from working for many years at the USDA Farm Service Agency. This has given me time to continue to pursue my interest in fiber. I have recently joined Local Fiber and will be participating in the Pop-Up Shop that will be located at Home Green Home on the Commons in Ithaca. This is due to open in Mid-November.

Amy Glaser Email: alg8@cornell.edu

Amy started her career in fiber later in life after experiencing what she now understands is a common “hit by sheep” phenomenon among fiber enthusiasts. Her fiber journey started in an unlikely way with the acquisition of 3 bred Suffolk ewes. Twelve years later and the introduction of multiple different rams, including Rambouillet, Finn, Cormo and Suffold/Texel crosses and back crosses of these combinations, the flock now consists of a wide range of fiber types useful for many different fiber applications. She hand-processes most of her fiber which is then used for spinning and felting. She has sold fiber locally at fiber festivals and privately to hand spinners and is interested in exploring ways to increase public access to fiber arts.